12... or 13?

So today's run was to be 12 miles. We started at Gazelle Sports downtown, and as I walked out the door, it started thundering and lightning. Knowing that I had to get my run in, I headed downtown anyways, and by the time I arrived at Gazelle, it had stopped storming. When I arrived, they sorted us into our groups, told us the route and mileage, and dismissed us by group to run.

I ran in the 9:30-10:00 min/mile pace group, and there were four of us running together. As we started, it started to rain, but the humidity had lowered, and the rain was warm, so it was pleasant. By 1.5 miles, the rain had stopped (and never returned).

As we were running, there were few mileage markers out, so we had to use our Garmin's for the distance. When we approached the 2nd water stop, they read 4.5 miles. We told a group that was only running 9 they could turn around. About a half mile up the road, we saw the 4.5 mile marker. The same was true for the 5 mile marker. So we had a dilemma when our Garmin's turned 6 miles. As we continued on, we saw the 6 mile turnaround, along with a water stop, so we continued onward.

At mile 6 (or 6.45), we got some water, and 2 members of our group continued on. We headed back, still puzzled by the milage, and wondered what the Garmin would read back at Gazelle.

By this time, it was starting to warm up, but there was a nice breeze. Being wet with the rain (and sweat), the breeze felt good and kept my body temperature cool for the run.

As I approached mile 11.7, I was starting to get tired (both physically and mentally), and stopped to walk, leaving my running partner behind. I put on the iPod to help me through the rest of the run.

I finally finished at Gazelle, and my Garmin read 12.88 miles. I trust the GPS more than the map handed out at the start, so I guess I did almost 13 miles today!!!